About

Our SDS laboratory is focused on understanding the genetic
and environmental pathways to disorders of social development in childhood, with the goal of devising and implementing the most effective preventive intervention possible, as well as the highest-impact treatment for children and families affected by these conditions. The laboratory resides within the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis, a world leader in the discovery and prevention of the earliest signs and symptoms of neuropsychiatric disorders of childhood.

Our research is rooted in the scientific disciplines of genetic epidemiology and child development, and our methods range from family studies to prospective developmental research, to genomic and neurophysiologic characterization of human subjects, to randomized controlled trials. Legacy datasets include prospective longitudinal studies of childhood and national and international collaborations which have archived biomaterials and behavioral data from children and families at risk, for use by qualified researchers around the world.

Autism Spectrum Conditions and Antisocial Disorders are distinct areas of focus, and our laboratory is a leading contributor to the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center at Washington University in St. Louis, one of 14 U.S. Kennedy Centers funded by the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development.